Carlyle, Robert (1961– )

Scottish actor. He has emerged as one of the leading British actors of his generation, often playing working-class men either down on their luck, as in The Full Monty (1997), or embroiled in the criminal underworld, as in Trainspotting (1996).

Known for his versatility in both comic and dramatic roles, as well as his skill in reproducing regional accents, he gained international recognition for his role as a Bond villain in The World is Not Enough (2000).

He made his film debut in Ken Loach's Riff-Raff (1990), a building-site-set examination of class struggle. His versatility as an actor has also been demonstrated in his television work. Since 1995 he has starred as the eponymous police constable in Hamish Macbeth, as a violent drug dealer in Looking After Jo Jo (1998), and as Adolf Hitler in Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003). His other films include Priest (1993), Carla's Song (1996), Face (1997), Angela's Ashes (1999), The 51st State (2001), Black and White (2002), and 28 Weeks Later (2007).